SUN PRAIRIE AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT EQUITY EVALUATION INTEGRATED COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEMS FOR EQUITY Student enrollment forms on Infinite Campus allow for multiple caregivers to have gendered and non-gendered designations. Caregivers, however, are required to select a binary gender (male or female) for their student as Infinite Campus does not allow additional options. The SPASD Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Procedures include the District’s bathroom policy in which students may use the bathroom for the gender with which they identify. The District expects all staff to be supportive of LGBTQIA+ staff, students, and families and this expectation is included in the District’s equity statement and within a school board proclamation. Regarding invitations to school functions, staff gatherings and related events, the District does not use the language of Mother/Father, Mr./Mrs. and instead refers to guardian/caregiver/family of (student). However, some schools within the District have continued to use gendered language and to provide invitations for related events, such as: “watch dog dads”, “muffins with mom”, and “donuts with dads”. The District and principals are working to eliminate gendered events. The District relies on the nationally recognized, valid, and reliable Dane County Youth Assessment for grades 7-12 that includes collecting data from students about the extent to which they are teased/bullied or harassed. However, despite the District’s efforts, this assessment revealed that 35% of students within the District, within this grade range, report having experienced harassment or bullying related to being or perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. The District has revised their dress code policies to eliminate culturally insensitive and gendered language, however the District’s music program continues to require stereotypical gendered concert dress requirements. As to the extent to which the District’s curriculum integrates LGBTQIA+ history, events, or people, the District reports that through the previously mentioned professional learning, staff are expected to integrate gender inclusivity and anti-bullying practices into curriculum and instruction and that the District can provide specific examples across the District. However, the District reports that more can be done to ensure that this is consistent throughout the District. In terms of including a range of identities and their intersections, participants reported, the District does not have a routine practice of including sexual orientation and gender identity when presenting identities to be addressed in the District. Within the District, there is a Gay/Straight Alliance (GSA) at the high school and at each of the middle schools. The high school’s GSA includes 12-17 regular student members annually. The group meets for one hour per week and attends a quarterly Wisconsin GSA meeting, and a monthly 30-minute student leadership meeting. The District conducted a comprehensive Title Wise Diversity Analysis of each school’s library/media holdings in August of 2021. Many of the diverse family books at the elementary © 2022 Elise M. Frattura and Colleen A. Capper. All rights reserved. Please do not reproduce, modify, or distribute this work without written consent from the authors or the Sun Prairie Area School District. Please email info@icsequity.org to obtain such permission. .
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